Senior Mission Database Engineer

Astroscale

Harwell, United Kingdom

From a technical perspective, the successful candidate will lead the design, development, and optimization of the Satellite Reference Database (SRDB) for a series of missions. In this role, you will be responsible for maintaining and enhancing the database infrastructure that stores and manages critical mission data. You will closely collaborate with various stakeholders, such as satellite operations, ground segment, flight software and other engineering teams, to further evolve the SRDB product to efficiently support several key aspects such as Satellite development, testing, planning, management and operations.

The ideal candidate will bring a wealth of experience in one or more of the following areas: database engineering, satellite data management, satellite ground segment and operations.

Key Responsibilities

Database Architecture & Design: Lead the architecture and deployment of robust SRDB solutions, ensuring high availability, scalability, and reliability for mission-critical satellite data;
Support Software Engineers: Collaborate with and support software engineers in the development of SRDB solutions, providing expertise and guidance to ensure seamless integration and functionality;
Data Integration & Management: Oversee the automated ingestion process and management of satellite telemetry, telecommand, and related mission data in the SRDB as well as generation of output data products;
Mission Information Base (MIB) Generation: Develop and manage processes for generating the Mission Information Base (MIB) from the SRDB that is compatible with the MCS (SCOS 2K);
Leadership & Mentorship: Build and lead a database engineering team, providing technical leadership, mentoring junior engineers, and ensuring alignment with project goals;
Automation & Innovation: Lead automation efforts to streamline the processing, ingestion, and analysis of satellite data, enhancing efficiency in database operations;
Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with Systems, Ground Segment, Flight Software, AIV and Operations teams to ensure that the SRDB supports all required mission data and functionality through all phases of the mission;
Verification & Validation: Implement processes to ensure data validity, tool validation, consistency and quality of SRDB content;
Documentation & Reporting: Maintain comprehensive documentation for SRDB systems, data processes, and tools. Provide regular reports to stakeholders on the development progress, data accuracy, and satellite mission readiness.

Essential Skills

 Bachelor, master’s degree or PHD in computer science, aerospace engineering or relevant engineering/science discipline;
8+ years of spacecraft database engineering, or related field, previous experience within spacecraft operations/analysis would also be an advantage;
Proven experience with large-scale database systems and managing satellite or telemetry-related data;
Experience in generating mission-critical data outputs, such as a Mission Information Base (MIB);
Experience with industry standards, processes, protocols for spacecraft communications, such as CCSDS & PUS;
Solid understanding of satellite telemetry and telecommand packet structures (TM/TC) and its use of its systems controls e.g SCOS-2K;
Previous experience in SQL databases design and management;
Basic understanding of programming languages such as Python or Java;
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work across cross-functional teams and leadership;
Proactive and self-managing, able to plan and effectively lead areas of responsibility whilst contributing collaboratively within a close-knit team;
Awareness of Astroscale’s position in the marketplace and our business goals and applying this knowledge accordingly to the technical solutions created.